Michelle Stanistreet wins election for NUJ deputy role

Posted by Paul McNally on 4 July 2008 at 15:12
Tags: Journalism

Former NUJ president Michelle Stanistreet has won the race to become the union’s new deputy general secretary.

Stanistreet was one of four candidates in the running for the job. Also up for election were freelance organiser John Toner, Philip Hunt and Chris Youett.

The post of deputy general sectretary is the second most senior full-time position in the union, second only to general secretary Jeremy Dear.

New job for Sami Al Haj at Al Jazeera

Posted by Paul McNally on 4 July 2008 at 09:32
Tags: Journalism

Sami Al Haj, the Al Jazeera journalist who spent six years in Guantanamo Bay, has been promoted.

According to Channel 21, Al Haj will take up the job of news producer for liberties and human rights affairs.

Movie explores adventures of Hunter S Thompson

Posted by Paul McNally on 4 July 2008 at 08:44
Tags: Journalism

The life of the late maverick American journalist Hunter S Thompson has become the subject of a new film, Gonzo, which is released today in the US.

Directed by Alex Gibney, the docu-movie includes archive footage of Thompson himself, plus contributions from Johnny Depp and the former US president Jimmy Carter.

Russian journalist’s murder suspect in hiding

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 2 July 2008 at 12:26
Tags: Journalism

The man suspected of killing Russian reporter Anna Politkovskaya has gone into hiding in western Europre, according to Russia’s chief criminal investigator.

The Independent reports that Politkovskaya was shot in 2006 ourside her home in Moscow.

Mosley to seek exemplary damages versus the NoW

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 2 July 2008 at 09:50
Tags: Journalism, Law, National Newspapers

Max Mosley will seek exemplary and compensatory damages when he sues the News of the World next week in the High Court for breach of privacy. Lawyers for the News of the World failed yesterday in a bid to get the exemplary damages claim thrown out.

Mosley is suing over a video broadcast on the NoW website and news reports claiming he took part in a “Nazi-themed” orgy.

Malibu residents attack paparazzi ‘invasion’

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 07:04
Tags: Journalism

A bitter war has erupted between the paparazzi and the residents of Malibu, some of whom are reported to have taken to “brutal vigilantism” to get their privacy back.

According to the Observer, paparazzi are increasingly coming under attack from locals in the southern Californian city, a popular destination for celebs.

Bonuses for BBC board - except Mark Thompson

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:47
Tags: Journalism

BBC executives are expected to share a total of £300,000 in bonuses this year, according to the Daily Telegraph.

But director general Mark Thompson is understood to have waived his bonus for the fourth year running.

The BBC annual report is published on 8 July.

Montgomery clashes with Dutch newspaper bosses

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:44
Tags: Journalism

The supervisory board of Dutch newspaper group Wegener has resigned following a row with owner David Montgomery, the former Mirror chief exec and boss of European newspaper group Mecom.

According to the FT, the editors of all seven regional papers in the group have written to Montgomery urging him to rethink merger plans.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail says Mecom boss David Montgomery is interested in acquiring the remaining 49 per cent stake in Polish publisher Presspublica, currently owned by its government.

BBC’s marketing man takes control of radio

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:36
Tags: Journalism

The white smoke has finally emerged from the chimney at Broadcasting House.

The BBC’s new director of audio and music - in charge of all of its national radio stations - is Tim Davie, currently director of marketing.

He replaces Jenny Abramsky, who is joining the Heritage Lottery Fund in October after almost 40 years at the corporation.

Haymarket buys two specialist B2B magazines

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:33
Tags: Journalism

Haymarket has bought two new titles.

Windpower Monthly is a subscription-only magazine on renewable energy. Compliance Week is a paid-for weekly electronic newsletter and monthly print title on corporate governance.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, newly filed accounts for the year ending 31 December 2007 show a record turnover for the publisher of £257m. Pre-tax profits fell from £14.5m to £8m.

Mail on Sunday confirms McFly album giveaway

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:27
Tags: Journalism

The Mail on Sunday has confirmed it is to give away the new album from McFly on 20 July.

It follows similar giveaways involving Prince and Paul McCartney.

BBC Magazines ‘embarrassment’ after Euro 2008 arrests

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:22
Tags: Journalism, Magazines

Three members of a BBC Magazines-organised trip to Euro 2008 have been arrested and released without charge after they were found in possession of stolen tickets.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the group were refused entry to the Italy v France match. A spokesman said the tickets had come from a reputable agency.

“It’s common practice for advertising sales people to entertain their clients,” an insider says. “But usually they don’t get arrested in the process. It was hugely embarrassing for the BBC.”

BBC couple Jane Garvey and Adrian Chiles split

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:18
Tags: Broadcast, Journalism

Former FiveLive presenter Jane Garvey, now the voice of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, has separated from her husband of 10 years, BBC presenter Adrian Chiles.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the pair are living apart. Former FiveLive controller Bob Shennan tells the paper: “[Chiles] likes working and he also feels he has to say yes to everything. I think that has caused some people, not least his wife, some exasperation.”

Sunday Times apologises to Arnold Schwarzenegger

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:12
Tags: Journalism, National Newspapers

The Sunday Times has apologised to the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, after it published a story which wrongly claimed he was to star in a Bollywood movie

The paper has also apologised to Alan Duncan MP over a report which claimed he had failed to declare a donation.

“The Sunday Times was misinformed,” it said. “The donation was made to the Conservative party and not to Alan Duncan. We apologise to all concerned that our article suggested otherwise.”

Subs, picture editor and reporter ‘at risk’ at City AM

Posted by Paul McNally on 30 June 2008 at 06:04
Tags: Journalism, National Newspapers, Regional Newspapers

City AM is looking to make all of its sub-editors redundant. According to the Independent on Sunday media diary, affected staff have been told they are not expected to come into work this week during the consultation period.

“I’ve been involved in launching free newspapers in 17 countries and I’ve never known them to employ subs,” says City AM managing director Jens Torpe.

A source tells the Sindy: “I don’t know how we’re going to get Monday’s paper out.”

House of Lords warn standards are slipping

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 27 June 2008 at 08:54
Tags: Journalism, Law

The House of Lords has warned that news gathering is being damaged by media companies’ pursuit of online revenue and that media companies are becoming too reliant on news agencies and public relations in order to cut costs, reports Media Guardian.

The warning came in a report from The Lords communications committee, which also said that the UK should not relax its media ownership laws.

FOI campaigner: Privacy concerns misplaced on crime map plan

Posted by Martin Stabe on 26 June 2008 at 13:16
Tags: Freedom of Information, Journalism, National Newspapers, Online, Regional Newspapers

London mayor Boris Johnson’s plan to disclose maps of crimes committed in the capital is being held up by “an unthinking, fetishistic attitude towards privacy“, freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke argues in the Times today.

“When I was a crime reporter in America, I was able to view all police incident reports, jail booking records and every warrant signed by the magistrate. I had some privileges as a reporter, but all this information was considered to belong to the public,” she notes.

In Britain, by contrast, she has found similar data is impossible to obtain, even under the Freedom of Information Act.

Brooke notes that crime maps that hold local police to account are a fixture of local newpapers’ websites in the United States, and that a number of independent sites, like Everyblock and Spotcrime, have emerged to provide more detailed views of local crime data.

In April, the Conservative Party has pledged to introduce crime mapping in the UK, and Johnson said during his campaign for Mayor that he would begin work toward introducing the policy to London on “day one” of his administration.

The plan now has Government support. But it has also plan has faced opposition from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, who fear its effect on house prices.

More crucially, the Information Commissioner’s office has advised police that the plan could breach the Data Protection Act and violate the privacy of crime victims.

Magazine editor arrested for burying cyclone dead

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 26 June 2008 at 11:11
Tags: Journalism

A Burmese magazine editor has been arrested and his publication closed after he volunteered to help bury the bodies of cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy Delta, reports AFP.

Aung Kyaw San, editor of the Myanmar Tribune, is just one of at least ten journalists and a blogger that are being detained in Myanmar, according to Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association, who are said to be outraged by the arrests of Burmese journalists.

The two organisations said: “The international community, including the United Nations, has succeeded in persuading the military government to open the country to humanitarian aid. It is now essential to get the junta to stop preventing civil society, including the press, from participating in the relief effort.”

In Press Gazette magazine this week (27 June)

Posted by Paul McNally on 25 June 2008 at 10:24
Tags: Journalism

We’ve pressed the send button, and this week’s Press Gazette is on its way to an industrial estate in St Albans. Here are some of the highlights:

Special report: Photographers under pressure
It’s a tough time to be a snapper. A leading lawyer warns that police surveillance of photographers smacks of Stasi-style harassment. We reveal the picture agency that has amassed £500k in debts. And we look at the new payment system for online pics that risks “turning photography into a commodity”.

Plus:

Terror notes grab hearing: Freelance journalist Shiv Malik has claimed a victory in his fight with Manchester Police. We look at what this means for other journalists facing similar Terrorism Act orders.

BBC Sport bosses explain why they are sending 437 London staff to Beijing to cover the Olympics.

Two years on, we find out how Time Out and the Big Issue have held their ground and survived the London free newspaper war.

Daily Mirror associate editor Matt Kelly talks us through the paper’s radical redesign, as the tabloid attempts to recover from a 40-year “identity crisis”.

Fed up of the newsroom? Sunday Telegraph chief foreign correspondent Colin Freeman shows how to set up your own one-man foreign bureau.

And all the regular favourites: Axegrinder, Grey Cardigan, two pages of essential tips in The Knowledge, and more news and analysis from the world of journalism.

If you’re a Press Gazette subscriber, your copy of Press Gazette should be with you on Thursday. Or pick it up from a newsagent from Friday.

Nick Cohen to sue New Statesman over changes to pay and conditions

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 24 June 2008 at 16:23
Tags: Journalism, Magazines

New Statesman contributors are reportedly outraged over changes to their terms and conditions which have led to their pay packets being “seriously reduced”, according to the Evening Standard.

Nick Cohen says he is suing them and told the Standard: “For a socialist magazine they are behaving far worse than a capitalist daily.” Cohen tells the Standard his pay has been cut by two thirds and says others are now getting “next to nothing at all”.